WGC-CA CHAMPIONSHIP: AS THE great cavalcade arrived at the Doral resort and the news filtered through that no less a judge of golfing flesh than Fred Funk has had a friendly bet that Tiger Woods will win every tournament he plays in this season, the great man himself yesterday pondered the possibility of ever losing again.

And after about as much time as it takes to swat a six-iron to three feet he issued the cursory response, "I'm sure it will happen, eventually."

Obviously. But "eventually", as the Greek philosophers never got round to saying because they were too preoccupied with less important stuff such as democracy, could be a long time coming.

It could be this week, at the CA Championship, the second of the season's world championships; it could be at the Masters at Augusta, where Woods has won only - only! - four times in 11 attempts. Or it could be after Fred Funk has spent his winnings on a new Hawaiian shirt.

That anyone could even contemplate such a clean sweep is a measure of Woods' achievement in winning his past seven events (and, lest it be overlooked, nine out of his past 10). Right now he looks unbeatable.

"Unfathomable," said Bart Bryant, who was confined to second place at Bay Hill on Sunday when Woods rolled in a 25-foot putt for a birdie on the final hole.

It is hard to imagine anyone improving on Bryant's assessment of Woods' achievements, although there were plenty of people around Doral who were willing to have a try.

"It is like he has a great career every season," said the always intelligent Geoff Ogilvy.

"The way he is playing is a kind of fantasy," chimed Davis Love.

And Boo Weekly stopped playing the country bumpkin for a second or two to deliver this honest appraisal of Woods' prospects of remaining unbeaten for the rest of the year: "Anything can happen. Tiger is that good."

Woods is not the bragging kind, but there have been clues over the past few months that not only is he aware of the immensity of his achievement but that he also expected it.

One of the clues has been Woods' willingness to let those closest to him talk up his prospects, the latest being his caddie Steve Williams, who suggested after Sunday's victory that his boss was a far better player than he was back in 2000-2001, when he won four successive majors.

"In 2000-01 Tiger was putting unbelievable; his putting was amazing," Williams said. "He didn't hit the ball anywhere near like he hits it now, didn't have anywhere near the array of shots and anywhere near the course management and course control. I don't even compare the two, to be honest with you."

And it is hard to imagine anyone matching Woods' achievements for the simple reason they cannot match his God-given talents.

"Nine," he said when asked how many different shots he could play with the same club: "Straight, right to left, left to right and then three different trajectories - low, high and regular. Then there is an infinite number in between.

"Each and every day is different. Each and every lie is different and every situation is different. And you have got to be able to call upon all those shots at any time and have complete confidence you can pull it off."

There have been countless attempts to define golfing perfection but surely none has been as wise or as succinct. Likewise, there have been great players through the ages but Woods is the first, save perhaps for Bobby Jones, who was playing in a less competitive era, to give perfection a run for its money.

• Guardian Service

WGC-CA CHAMPIONSHIP

Course: Doral Resort Course and Spa, Blue Course.

Length: 7,266 yards, par 72.

Prizemoney: $8,000,000 (€5m, €865,160 to the winner).

Field: 79.

Defending champion: Tiger Woods.

First played: In 1999, at Valderrama.

Most wins: Tiger Woods with six.

On TV: Sky Sports 2, 18.00-20.00

Weather: Calm, sunny, 290C, 40% chance of showers